Kristian Garic

Kristian Camp Recap: Tons o' fun, while Jordan impresses

by Kristian Garic,posted Jul 30 2012 4:37AM

Kristian@wwl.com - Fans: The Who Dat Nation was well represented and braved the 101-degree temperatures at Saints Camp on Sunday. In return, the players rewarded the fans with some spectacular play. Saints officials say the attendance was over 4,000 fans. It's always entertaining to keep an eye on the Who Dats out at Training Camp. They know the roster up and down, and watching the fans’ sharp eyeballs, making the "early cuts" is interesting. (Although at one point, I heard one fan yell, "Devery Henderson, you won't make it this year." I politely turned around and told him I thought he was mistaken.)

Cam Can: 2nd-year defensive end Cameron Jordan is having a strong camp, and is light years ahead of where he was as a rookie a year ago. Jordan is consistently disrupting plays in the backfield, whether it is on the quarterback or the running backs. He's faster, his weight is down about 10 pounds, and this might be a heck of a year for Jordan. Joe Vitt often talks about the growth of a player from year one to year two, and I think we are seeing it in Jordan. In fact, the front four has been pretty disruptive so far in camp.

Drops: It wasn't just rookie wide-out Nick Toon struggling with drops on Sunday. I counted 5 dropped passes from various wide receivers (excluding Colston and Moore) during the teams 7 on 7 drill. Nick Toon had three drops today. For those that had him penciled in (and I'm in that company) as the starter at the 4th wide receiver position, it's far from a foregone conclusion if he can't hold onto the football. Adrian Arrington is clearly the leader in the clubhouse here.

Nickleback: Right now it looks as though it's Johnny Patrick's job to lose. He's made 2 interceptions in consecutive days, including a pick of Drew Brees in the team period on Sunday. Defensive back Patrick Robinson was victimized on a deep back-shoulder fade pass to Devery Henderson. It was really good coverage by Robinson, but an even better pass by Brees. If it were anyone other than Brees, perhaps by Aaron Rodgers of Green Bay, it would have been an incomplete pass.

Injury report: Defensive back Patrick Robinson left practice about halfway through the session after coming down hard on his left shoulder. Coach Joe Vitt described the injury as a "tweak". Tight end David Thomas missed his third consecutive practice with a sore lower back. Vitt says they have a lot of time with 5 pre-season games, and that there is no need to rush Thomas back on to the field.